I guess it is about time the semicolon got its due. Here’s a little excerpt of a book I ran across recently. It is written by Lewis Thomas (whoever that is or was…): I have grown fond of semicolons in recent years. The semicolon tells you that there is still some question about the preceding…
The Sponsor This month’s sponsor is Reformation Heritage Books. RHB publishes and distributes Puritan and Reformed books. Soli Deo Gloria Publications, which you know as a publisher that has done more than just about any other organization to bring Puritan writings back into print is now under the direction of Reformation Heritage. The Prizes 3rd…
Wednesday April 20, 2008 Tuesdays are for ReviewsWe uploaded eight (!) new reviews to Discerning Reader yesterday. We add reviews every Tuesday so you may like to make DR at least a once-weekly stop in your internet travels. Coming Soon from John PiperAt the Desiring God blog is an update about the forthcoming books from…
Mark was determined to die. And in retrospect there was really nothing anyone could have done to stop him. His first attempt came when he was 18 and it left him with scars running the length of his arms. His sister found him sitting calmly in the bathtub, a razor blade lying in the pool…
Tuesday April 29, 2008 Porn in Public LibrariesCarolyn McCulley comments on the growing phenomenon of people using public computers to browse pornography. Everyone Must Be a TheologianOver at the Ligonier blog we’re providing (in regular installments) the complete text of John Gerstner’s book “Theology for Everyman.” The first chapter says that every person is called…
Over the weekend I read an advanced reading copy of Crazy Love by Francis Chan (a book that is due for publication in May). You may not know the name, but you may well have seen his “Just Stop and Think” movie where he walks along a beach with a surfboard while sharing the gospel.…
I don’t think it takes very many years of child raising before every parent realizes that he is in over his head. I am no stranger to this feeling. As I was walking my eight-year-old son to school just last week he turned to me and said, “Dad, why is it that people think killing…
I’m not much of a do-it-yourself type. I’m well aware of my limits. You know, I’m pretty comfortable changing light bulbs and painting walls, but beyond that I tend to put a call out to my father-in-law (for low priority jobs) or a paid expert (for high priority jobs). We’ve got a few neighbors who…
Monday April 28, 2008 Economic Stimulus Payments and God’s GloryI’ve been waiting for someone to write this. Imagine the good American Christians can do with their “free” money from the government. Instead of heading straight to Best Buy, why not find a good and creative way of blessing others and worshiping God with that money.…
In the past months you may well have heard me mention The Elisha Foundation. This is a foundation I first discovered through my pastor (who is a regular speaker at the Foundation’s annual retreats) and subsequently learned about more when I designed a new website for it. I quickly came to respect what they do…
It’s funny how Saturdays, which used to be the most relaxing day for me, have become so busy. I am coaching Nick’s baseball team this year and we were on the field early this morning for our first practice. This season the kids are staring from the plate to a pitching machine and seeing pitches…
I’ve often reflected on an experience I had when I was studying in college. With a busy semester ahead of me, I decided to take “Death and Dying,” an elective that had the reputation of being an exceptionally easy course (a “bird course” we called it back then). On the first day we arrived in…
Friday April 25, 2008 Gospel TranslationsAt the Ligonier blog is an article about the new Gospel Translations initiative and Ligonier’s involvement in it. There is also a video detailing the Gospel Translations effort. Ehrman and Wright Discuss SufferingBeliefnet has a lengthy dialog between Bart Ehrman and N.T. Wright on the subject of suffering. For Sale:…
Lydia Brownback, author and editor extraordinaire, has recently released a couple of books in a new “On-the-Go Devotional” series. Written for women, “On-the-Go Devotionals easily tuck into a purse or gym bag and make great gifts. Each lesson is self-contained, with Scripture and a paragraph or two of teaching that will steer women away from…
Last year some of the readers of this site began to read Christian classics together with me. The impetus for this project was the simple realization that, though many Christians want to read through the classics of the faith, few of us have the motivation to actually make it happen. This program allows us to…
Thursday April 24, 2008 Is Prince Caspian Really C.S. Lewis?Devin Brown provides an answer in a recent article at Christianity Today. OpenBible LabsOpenBible Labs has some small but fascinating experiments with Bible data. The Bible Word Locator and Bible Book Browser are particularly interesting. Dr. Mohler on The ShackDr. Mohler recently dedicated most of a…
Here is another excerpt from James Spiegel’s Gum, Geckos and God. This brief passage deals with how and why we trust God (or fail to trust God). The other day I was sitting in a faculty meeting, trying not to doze off during some committee reports. As I looked around, I mused over how much…
Some time ago, no doubt while I was awake in the middle of the night with one of the children, I saw a documentary about some weird disease that causes a patient’s skin to harden. This disease often sets in during childhood and causes the skin to become hard and shiny. I searched around today…
Wednesday April 23, 2008 Pulpit Reviews “Expelled”Pulpit blog reviewed Ben Stein’s “Expelled” and says, “I strongly recommend college students go and see this movie, and strongly recommend that their shepherds take the time to talk to them afterwards.” Temperature Sensors and Global WarmingAn interesting article uses a infrared camera to show why global temperatures may…
I recently read Rapture Ready, a new book by Daniel Radosh. The book is subtitled “Adventures in the Parallel Universe of Christian Pop Culture” which probably tells you most of what you need to know about it. The author, a secular liberal, immerses himself in Christian pop culture and uses this book to write about…